A Journey of Growth: My Rotaract Mora Experience

May 17, 2025

Have you ever wondered how the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa brings students together to create a meaningful impact?

A year ago, I barely knew that such a club existed. In December 2023, a friend of mine asked if I would like to help with partnership pitching for a project. I had no idea what that meant, but I agreed. At that time, academics felt like the only thing I was doing, and I wanted to try something new. That decision turned out to be the beginning of an incredible journey.

The project was Are You Ready? 2024, the Official career fair of University of Moratuwa. I was part of a team led by Theoda akka (now the club’s Treasurer), which focused on IT sector companies and there was an awareness session about making the first call, addressing HR personnel, speaking professionally with industry leaders, and pitching partnerships. That session was the only knowledge I had before I started reaching out to companies. Stepping into this role felt like a challenge at first, but with each call, I gained more confidence and understanding of how the process worked.

My first physical contribution to an event of the club was Resume Centre ‘24, a sub-project of Are You Ready? 2024. After months of effort, we successfully concluded the career fair in March 2024. By then, I had developed a passion for partnership pitching, which led me to another project, Grama Prabodhaya. This initiative focused on supporting a rural school. I joined the Organizing Committee of Akuru, a sub-project of Grama Prabodhaya, where I took on two new roles: partnership pitching and caption writing.

As I got more involved, I even became part of an OC for a general meeting, contributing to caption writing once again. But the biggest step in my Rotaract journey came when I was selected as a Co-Chairperson for Data Storm 5.0, a data analytics coding competition organized in collaboration with OCTAVE and the Rotaract Club of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo. I worked alongside three amazing co-chairpersons (huge shoutout to them!). Through this project, I learned how to manage an OC, communicate with industry partners, keep a timeline, and meet deadlines. It was a defining experience for me.

From being a general member, I was officially inducted into the club in April 2024. Then, as the RI year 23/24 was ending, I got a call from Hiruni Praveesha (the current President) asking if I would like to take on the role of Director of Partnership. It felt like a big achievement considering how I started my journey in Rotaract Mora, knowing nothing about partnership pitching.

In November 2024, I was officially appointed at the Installation Ceremony, marking another milestone in my Rotaract journey (Here's a big shoutout to my fellow board members, BOD 22!).

Since then, I've been responsible for the partnerships of the club, working with different project teams and sharing my knowledge. As I continued to contribute to different projects, I found myself helping others with partnership pitching, something that once felt so unfamiliar to me. Every time I guide someone through the process, I remember my very first session in 2023, when I knew nothing about pitching.

Looking back, my journey in Rotaract Mora has shaped me in many ways. It has helped me develop my personality, improve my speaking skills, build industry connections, and most importantly, create university life filled with unforgettable memories.